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Phenix Capital publishes the Impact Report January 2024. Between 2022 and 2023, the impact investing universe has grown both in terms of new funds launched, a growth rate of 16.7%, and, in terms of total committed capital, which now stands at €589 billion, having grown by 9.3%.
“We continue to observe a steady flow of solutions in the market across asset classes, instruments and geographies that are both attractive to asset owners and allocators, and aim to deliver market-rate financial returns while tackling some of humanity’s most significant challenges.”
The Impact Fund Universe Report seeks to fill the need for comprehensive and reliable market intelligence in the industry. We present our findings from more than nine years of collecting institutional impact fund data gathered from our network of fund managers and institutional asset owners.
As with all of Phenix Capital Group’s work, this report focuses on the ‘financial-first’ side of the spectrum of impact capital and considers only those funds targeting risk-adjusted market-rate returns.
Phenix Capital has been dedicated to supporting the growth of the industry, educating asset owners, and catalysing institutional capital to impact investing since 2012.
Developed for institutional investors by institutional investors, the Phenix Impact Database is designed to assist institutional asset owners with building and implementing an impact portfolio.
Since 2015, Phenix Impact Database has been tracking the allocation of capital to impact investing. To date, €589 billion has been allocated to more than 2,600 impact investing funds.
With a backdrop of continuing economic, social and geopolitical challenges, exacerbated by wars, impact investing continued to regain ground in 2023 with the total number of funds in the Phenix Impact Database increasing by 16.7% since 2022, compared to a year-on-year growth of 11.4% for 2021 to 2022. Over the last three years, the database has seen more than 1,000 new funds enter, with 636 new launches. In 2023, there were 153 new launches mapped. Meanwhile in 2023, total committed capital grew by €50 billion, a growth rate of 9.3%, compared to 13% for the previous year.
Here are some key takeaways:
- 78% increase in total committed capital over three years with 9.3% growth in the amount of capital, which now stands at €589 million, committed by institutional investors in 2023
- 15.3% increase in the number of managers, now totalling 1,090, reporting to the database
- 1186 funds currently raising capital, equivalent to 46% of the database, with an average target size of €391 million per fund
- Almost 68% of the managers in the database are actively raising money
- 104% growth in the average target size of funds over the last three years
- 70% growth in the number of new Climate Action (SDG13)-focused fund in the database, with 41% of the 180 funds added in 2023 new launches
- 69% of the Zero Hunger (SDG2) funds added to the database in 2023 are new launches
- 153 new funds launched in 2023 with 75% of them investing in private markets
- 1262 private equity funds, equivalent to 48% of the database, make this asset class the most prominent in the database
- 58% of the new launches in 2023 were developed market in focus with 27% focusing on the emerging markets
